Summit
6 December 2006
Premier Ebrahim Rasool will deliver the keynote address at the Western Cape
Anti-Corruption Summit taking place this Thursday, 7 December and Friday, 8
December 2006, at His People's Centre, Goodwood, Cape Town. The summit is
co-hosted by Local Government and Housing MEC, Qubudile Richard Dyantyi, on
behalf of the Provincial Government of the Western Cape, and auditing firm
KPMG.
The summit has been timed to coincide with International Anti-Corruption Day
on 9 December and takes place under the banner "We stand together in defending
development and delivery against corruption." It is expected to adopt several
resolutions aimed at fighting corruption in the public service, especially at
provincial and local government level.
There will be a particular focus on procurement procedures given that this
is an area which has been identified as being vulnerable to corruption. The
summit is also expected to re-establish the Western Cape Anti-Corruption Forum
as a response to President Thabo Mbeki's call in his State of the Nation
address in February 2005. "The government will remain focused on the challenge
to fight corruption in the public sector and in society at large. We will
continue to intensify our offensive on this front, truly aware of the fact that
much that happens in our society encourages the entrenchment of a value system
based on personal acquisition of wealth by all means and at all costs,"
President Mbeki said at the time.
The Country Corruption Assessment Report, a joint initiative by the
Department of Public Service and Administration and the United Nations (UN)
Office on Drugs and Crime, which was issued during April 2003, revealed that of
the businesses surveyed, 49% experienced theft by employees, 34% were defrauded
by employees and 15% had been offered bribes. Sixty-two percent believed that
corruption was now an acceptable way of conducting their trade.
The UN Economic Commission for Africa's (ECA) Governance report 2005 found
that despite an overall improvement in governance in the 27 African countries
surveyed, corruption is still pervasive. Corruption is ranked third amongst the
most urgent problems in many African Countries after poverty and
unemployment.
A more recent international survey revealed that companies reporting
economic crime increased from 71% to 83% since 2003, though this can be
ascribed to improved detection and improved access to report wrongdoing.
Enquiries:
Shado Twala
Tel: (021) 483 5642
Cell: 083 640 6771
E-mail: stwala@pgwc.gov.za
Issued by: Office of the Premier, Western Cape Provincial Government
6 December 2006
Source: Western Cape Provincial Government (http://www.capegateway.gov.za)
